Collections

The Al Parker collection includes three envelopes of photographs, sheet music, and newspaper clippings as well as a scrapbook relating to the professional and personal life of Philadelphia-based photographer and photographic supplies salesman Alfred Parker.

The Al Parker collection includes three envelopes of photographs, sheet music, and newspaper clippings as well as a scrapbook relating to the professional and personal life of Philadelphia-based photographer and photographic supplies salesman Alfred Parker.

Envelope A (photographs): includes unmounted oval portraits of Parker’s children Eda and Ray from the early 1900s; studio portraits of Eda and his wife Alice from the 1910s, two of them from the Philadelphia studio of Gilbert and Bacon; an mounted school class photo (ca. 1890s?)

Envelope B (sheet music): includes three examples of World War I songs from the Eagle Publishing Company of Philadelphia with "music by Geo. L. Robertson and lyrics by Al. Parker."

Envelope C (letters, clippings, etc.): includes a letter appointing Dr. Ray Parker head of plastic surgery at a hospital in Johnstown, PA; a magazine article on “Flood Free Johnstown”; letters and clippings about Dr. Ray Parker; article on World War II factory workers; newspaper article on Theodore Roosevelt urging U.S. entry into World War I; and a note from Christmas 1926 from Parker’s grandson Donald addressed to “Ganco."

Scrapbook: The volume (37 x 28) is cloth-bound and has 66 pages total. Materials are not arranged in any chronological or thematic order and so unrelated items often appear together on the same page.

The album begins with photographs of Parker’s family members while the next few pages focus on scenes from his professional life, including a magazine cover from April 1900 and documentation of his break with Willis & Clements in 1910. Portraits of Parker at every stage of his life appear throughout the scrapbook, though not in any chronological order. The earliest is a tintype from the 1850s that shows him as a young boy with his brothers. Many portraits and casual snapshots of Parker's daughter Eda and son Ray from their early childhood into adulthood are included, while a collection of clippings reflects Parker’s pride in Ray's success as a doctor. His delight in playing the doting grandfather is clear from the drawings Parker made for Eda’s son Donald and in the notes that Donald wrote to Parker using the nickname “Ganco.”

A handful of portraits that were taken by Parker show that he was a capable studio photographer in addition to being a successful promoter of platinum photography products while working for Willis & Clements. Requests for his opinions from Eastman Kodak Company, Photo Era magazine, and the Photographers’ Association of New England testify to his recognized expertise. Numerous portraits of Parker in the company of other well-regarded photographers of the day confirm his acceptance in that professional circle.

Many ephemeral items also help illuminate the arc of Parker's career including programs from his minstrel show days; an advertisement for his Australian window blind company; the initial offer of employment from Willis and Clements; business cards from various stages of his career; and an ad for a new camera shutter he invented. Interspersed amongst these items are letters and photographs from various colleagues and employers along with miscellaneous poems, cartoons, programs, drawings, song lyrics, newspaper clippings, and so on.

Detroit, Michigan, attorney and judge, Democratic candidate for governor in 1934. Correspondence, legal case files, family materials, speeches, essays, diary notes, financial materials, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, and transcript of oral interview.

The Arthur J. Lacy collection consists of correspondence and other papers documenting his political activities within the Democratic party and career as a Detroit attorney. The collection has been divided into the following series: Biographical information; Personal letters; Professional correspondence and related papers; Lacy Family papers; Speeches; Early personal materials; Writings, essays, etc.; Financial files; Miscellaneous; Newspapers clippings; Photographs; and Legal files.

The Lacy Collection documents particularly well Lacy's major legal cases (Wilson vs. White, the Ford Stock Tax Case, Mary A. Rackham Estate) and his transition from conservative Democrat to conservative Republican. His letters home from Valparaiso, Indiana and Ann Arbor and his letters to his future wife Beth Garwick give a detailed picture of college life in the 1890's. Major subjects covered in the public papers are the Detroit Domestic Relations Court, problems of taxation and banking in the depression, Lacy's friendship with James Couzens, and the campaigns of 1932 and 1934. A series of notes Lacy wrote to himself from 1915-1928 and 1946-1956 reveal his political ideals, personal morality, and his relationship to his family.

Within the Professional Correspondence and related papers series, the researcher will find correspondence with many notable political and business figures. These include John W. Anderson, William R. Angell, Art Baker, Arthur A. Ballantine, C.C. Bradner, John V. Brennan, Thomas E. Brennan, Prentiss M. Brown, Wilber M. Brucker, George E. Bushnell, Daniel T. Campau, Harvey J. Campbell, John J. Carson, E.R. Chapin, John S. Coleman, William A. Comstock, Calvin Coolidge, Grace G. Coolidge, Frank Couzens, James J. Couzens, John D. Dingell, Patrick J. Doyle, William J. Durant, Henry T. Ewald, Mordecai J.B. Ezechiel, James A. Farley, Homer Ferguson, Woodbridge N. Ferris, Clara J.B. Ford, Edsel B. Ford, Joseph Foss, Fred W. Green, Alexander J. Groesbeck, Edgar A. Guest, James M. Hare, Herbert C. Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover, Kaufman T. Keller, Stanley S. Kresge, David Lawrence, Arthur F. Lederle, John C. Lehr, Fulton Lewis, Percy Loud, William G. McAdoo, William McKinley, George A. Marston, Eliza M. Mosher, Frank Murphy, George Murphy, William J. Norton, George D. O'Brien, Elmer B. O'Hara, Hazen S. Pingree, Mary A. H. Rackham, Horace H. Rackham, Clarence A. Reid, George W. Romney, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Alexander G. Ruthven, W.M. Skillman, Albert E. Sleeper, Edward D. Stair, Arthur E. Summerfield, William H. Taft, Joseph P. Tumulty, Arthur H. Vandenberg, A. VanderZee, Murray D. Van Wagoner, Henry F. Vaughan, Carl Vinson, Matilda R.D. Wilson, Clarence E. Wilcox, and R.A.C. Wollenberg.

The Lacy Family papers are rich in detail about life in Michigan in the nineteenth and early twentieth century; the surviving letters document family crises and Lacy's role in them as the oldest and most successful child and later, as family leader. Lacy was the family genealogist and he collected and preserved the family correspondence of his uncles and aunt, some of which date back to the 1850's.

University of Michigan faculty member and administrator, Educational Director of the Y.M.C.A. at Camp Custer, Michigan during World War I, and principal at Ann Arbor High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Album of photographs taken at Camp Custer, showing classroom scenes and other aspects of camp life; also portraits of family members.

Album of photographs taken at Camp Custer, showing classroom scenes and other aspects of camp life, panoramic views of grounds and structures, and portraits and photographs of soldiers; also portraits of members of the Springer and Lazelle families.

Professor of constitutional law at the University of Michigan. Papers include correspondence, reports, articles, speeches, photographs, and notebooks, relating to Bates' professional career, with material concerning activities of Ann Arbor National Defense Committee; life and career of Lawrence Maxwell, lawyer and U.S. Solicitor General in the Cleveland administration, funding and building the Michigan Union (1911-1918); Republican politics in the 1930's and 1940's; Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempt to reorganize the Supreme Court in 1937; and campus life at the University of Michigan during the first and second World Wars.

The Henry M. Bates papers include correspondence, reports, articles, speeches, photographs, and notebooks, relating to Bates' professional career, with material concerning activities of Ann Arbor National Defense Committee; life and career of Lawrence Maxwell, lawyer and U.S. Solicitor General in the Cleveland administration, funding and building the Michigan Union (1911-1918); Republican politics in the 1930's and 1940's; Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempt to reorganize the Supreme Court in 1937; and campus life at the University of Michigan during the first and second World Wars.

The papers are organized into Correspondence undated and 1886-1949, Michigan Union Building, 1911-1918; Committee of Nine on Mineral Law, 1927-1929; Miscellaneous Papers; and Photographs.

Professor of homoeopathic medicine at University of Michigan, mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, dean of the New York Homeopathic Medical College and director of Flower Hospital, New York City Commissioner of Public Health, and Democratic U. S. Senator from New York, 1923-1938. Personal and medical correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks containing food and health articles, photographs, and other papers concerning his medical and political interests. Correspondents include: Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Alfred E. Smith.

The Royal Copeland collection, consisting primarily of correspondence, speeches and writings, scrapbooks, and articles, relates primarily to Copeland's medical career as professor of homeopathic medicine at the University of Michigan, dean of the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital, and New York City Commissioner of Public Health, and as United States Senator.

Prosecuting attorney of Saginaw County, Michigan, attorney general of Michigan, 1929-1931, governor, 1931-1932, general counsel to the Department of Defense during the Army-McCarthy Hearing, 1954-1955, and Secretary of the Army, 1955-1961. Correspondence, speeches, tapes, appointment books, scrapbooks, photograph albums, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning his political career.

The Wilber M. Brucker Collection consists of correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, tape recordings, visual materials, political ephemera, and other materials from a lifelong career in public service. The collection provides significant, though not always extensive, material on his activities as state attorney general, governor, and secretary of the army. In addition, the papers include documentation from Brucker's private career: his law practice, his involvement in the preparation of a plan for the reapportionment of the Michigan Legislature, his devotion to Republican Party causes, his activities with the Knights Templar of Michigan, and as a member of the World War I Rainbow Division. With some exceptions, the early phases of Brucker's life are not as well represented as one might hope. There is really no body of Brucker gubernatorial materials extant. What remains are scattered items, largely concerning the election campaigns of 1930 and 1932.

The collection has been arranged into twelve series: Biographical; Correspondence; Family Papers; Subject Files; Knights Templar; Rainbow Division; Appointment Books; Speeches; Secretary of the Army; Newspaper Clippings; Personal: Albums, Scrapbooks, etc.; and Visual Materials.

The William A. Lewis photograph collection consists of approximately 1,530 items pertaining to a wide range of visual subjects that are represented across a variety of photographic formats including daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereographs (which form the bulk of the collection), and glass plate negatives as well as modern slides, film strips, snapshots, and postcards.

The William A. Lewis photograph collection consists of approximately 1,530 items pertaining to a wide range of visual subjects that are represented across a variety of photographic formats including daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereographs (which form the bulk of the collection), and glass plate negatives as well as modern slides, film strips, snapshots, and postcards.

The subject matter of this collection is thematically and chronologically diverse and reflects the broad interests of the collector, with the U.S. Civil War and 19th-century views of American and European cities being particularly well-represented topics. The collection is organized into four main series according to subject matter and is further divided into specific subject groupings within each series. In most cases, multi-item sets have been kept together and placed within the most generally appropriate subject grouping. An extensive number of photographers and publishers are represented throughout the collection including the likes of H. H. Bennett, C. B. Brubaker, John Carbutt, Centennial Photographic Company, B. F. Childs, E. & H. T. Anthony & Company, Alexander Gardner, T. W. Ingersoll, International Stereoscopic View Company, Keystone View Company, William Notman, Timothy O'Sullivan, William Rau, Strohmeyer & Wyman, Underwood & Underwood, and F. G. Weller.

The following list provides a breakdown of every topical subsection of the collection and includes item counts for each grouping:

• Airships (11)
• Bridges (69)
• Civil War I--stereographs (91)
• Civil War II--cartes de visite, Kodachrome slides, negative film strip copies of stereographs held at the Library of Congress, postcards (48)
• Disasters (49)
• Expositions (24)
• Industry & Labor (89)
• Miscellaneous (23)
• Portraits (109)
• Railroads (62)
• Ships (80)
• War (30)

• Alaska (47)
• Arizona (3)
• California (20)
• Colorado (2)
• Dakota (4)
• District of Columbia (50)
• Florida (2)
• Hawaii (1)
• Illinois (17)
• Iowa (2)
• Maine (8)
• Maryland (27)
• Massachusetts (20)
• Michigan (31)
• Missouri (3)
• New Hampshire (10)
• New York (116)
• Ohio (2)
• Oregon (2)
• Pennsylvania (16)
• Tennessee (1)
• Texas (1)
• Vermont (3)
• Utah (3)
• Virginia (6)
• Washington (1)
• West Virginia (1)
• Wisconsin (2)
• Wyoming (2)
• Unidentified locations (35)

• Austria (5)
• Belgium (6)
• Brazil (1)
• Canada (3)
• Cuba (5)
• Czechoslovakia (1)
• Egypt (5)
• England (21)
• France (43)
• Germany (14)
• Greece (1)
• India (2)
• Ireland (4)
• Italy (22)
• Japan (3)
• Mexico (1)
• Miscellaneous (31)
• Monaco (4)
• Netherlands (1)
• Norway (3)
• Palestine (5)
• Panama (41)
• Puerto Rico (3)
• Scotland (10)
• Spain (2)
• Sweden (2)
• Switzerland (9)
• Turkey (1)

• Keystone Alaska and Panama views, set box (1)
• Stereoscope (1)

• Post-WWI Keystone views of German and American zeppelins and one real photo postcard showing pre-WWI aircraft (Series I, Box 1, Airships)
• Numerous views of the Brooklyn Bridge under construction and after completion, and the Niagara Falls suspension bridge (Series I, Box 1, Bridges)
• Views of Civil War battle sites, encampments, and leaders on contemporary mounts as well as numerous reproductions of stereographs showing important battlefield sites and troops (Series I, Boxes 1-2, Civil War)
• Stereographs, real photo postcards, and other images documenting the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, 1871 Chicago Fire, 1889 Johnstown Flood, 1900 Galveston Hurricane, and other calamities (Series I, Box 3, Disasters)
• Images showing scenes from various American and European events, with an emphasis on the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia (Series I, Box 3, Expositions)
• Images showing mills, factories and people engaged in various occupations, including a boxed set of 50 images related Sears, Roebuck operations produced around 1906 (Series I, Box 3, Industry & Labor)
• Hand-colored early groupings of French theatrical tableaux (Series I, Box 3, Miscellaneous)
• Approximately 109 portrait photographs in different formats of various individuals, including William Jennings Bryan; a boxed set of 50 cartes de visite depicting Danish actors and actresses; cartes de visite of Emperor Napoleon III and the Mikado of Japan; and numerous unidentified subjects represented in real photo postcards (1), tintypes (17), framed/cased ambrotypes, and daguerreotypes (13) (Series I, Box 4, Portraits)
• Approximately 62 images of railroads, mostly in the U.S., including photographs from an 1866 expedition to the 100th meridian on the Union Pacific Railroad while under construction (Series I, Box 5, Railroads)
• Approximately 80 images of ships including warships, freighters, riverboats, passenger ships, shipwrecks (including of the USS Maine), and shipyards mostly in the U.S. with the notable exception of a photo of the 1858 launch of the SS Great Eastern, with Isambard Kingdom Brunel possibly in the crowd. Also of interest are 8 photos and postcards showing ships in World War I-era "dazzle" camouflage (Series I, Box 5, Ships)
• A Keystone View Co. series of images related to World War I (Series I, Box 5, Wars)
• A number of images produced by Keystone View Co. and other stereograph purveyors that focus on major cities such as Boston, New York, Paris, Constantinople, and Jerusalem (throughout Series II & Series III)
• Views from geological expeditions to the American frontier in the 1860s and 1870s (Series II, Unidentified Locations)